St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-01
EMMA,s CHURCH EXPLOIT.

Miss Abbott Tells About That Fa-
nous Nashville Church Episode,
and HOW She Came to Jaw Back
at the Preacher.
- f ALL the stage women in
.S@es4A, this country EMMA ABBOTT is
D.. Il. ~ the busiest. She is little
4fHe18aN bundle of nervous energy tied
n up in silk cords. and can't
Senz% keep from being busy if she
H wanted to. She had taken
long walk Yesterday, longer drive over the
city, and had just finished three hours re-
hearsal of her company in a new opera, 1.-THE
Good Little Devil when the GLOBE repre-
sentative met her and asked her ii she would
have time to tell him something about that
row she had with the Nashville preacher.
Now there are just two things that want to
contradict of what has been said in the pa
pers about that episode remarked Miss ABB
BoTT. land if you will take seat for mo-
ment will tell you what they are. did not
play the part for advertising purposes, as has
been charged against me, nor did /
interrupt the minister in his sermon.
I'll tell you the whole story as the
shortest way of indicating myself i'll the
matter. To begin with. am church men,
Der, and always make ii a rule to attend di-
vine service on the Sabbath. On this par
ticular Sabbath / was in Nashville, where l
had just closed weeks engagement, which,
by the way, was the opening week of the
finest theater in the South. Sunday morning
i asked my hotel proprietor to direct me to a
church. He told me that there was a fine
Methodist church next door to the theater
where 1 had been singing. went i'll and
sat down in a rear pew. The preacher, Rev.
DR.. CANDER, seemed to have been annoyed
because the new theater had been opened
next to his church, and the stage was the
subject of his discourse. If he had confined
his sermon to a general denunciation of the
stage would not have said a word. But he
made his remarks personal He pointed to
the theater and compared the weeks per
Torrance there to a bear garden; he called it
"a show" and worse in its corrupting infiu-
ences. Just think of that, man making
comparison of that kind with reference to
"Trovatore'' and that pure little operate gem
1.-THE Bohemian Girl He spoke of me as
THAT woman singing there with her mock
PRAYERS" and called it blasphemv. But
worse than all was when he included all
opera singers and actresses in the sweep
ing denunciation of ''unchaste and
degraded women" Then my blood boiled in
my veins. GOD knows that my own life is as
stainless as the fecken snow. My first i'm
pulse was to retire from the church; but upon
reflection knew 1 would be recognized by
some of the congregation, and my withdrawal
would be construed into an admission of the
truthfulness of the preachers statements.
When he had closed his sermon and took up
the hymn book rose from my seat, and in
quiet manner entered my protest against the
injustice of MS remarks. 1 said that not only
in my own vindication, but III that of such
pure women as JENNY LIND. CHARLOTTE
CUsHMAN, RIsroRI, MAGGIE MITCHELL, MARY
ANDERSON. and others. whose pure. womanly
Qualities were known to all the world. felt
it my duty right then and there to defend my
profession. The congregation applauded me.
and when retired from the church at the
close of the services. great numbers OF DIR.
CANDERs own church members aocked